


Midnight Sunrise

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mpreg, Pregnancy, author forgets how to use tags, author wants to make you cry, pregnant Grillby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-06-10 18:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6968227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's always the next sunrise. Sansby with pregnant Grillby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm not dead!  
> This was going to be a oneshot, but I think splitting it up will give me motivation to actually finishing it. So it'll be shorter.  
> If you like it, you should check out my other story, Clouds.  
> I have a tumblr under the same username if you'd like to meet my weird ass.

Grillby awoke with a jolt, abruptly pulled from the warm swath of sleep by sudden movement and noise beside him. Groggy and confused, he made an heaving effort to roll in the tangled bedsheets and squinted in the morning light. Sans…? The skeleton was sitting upright, clutching his chest and breathing hard. 

Oh no… Snapping into awareness, Grillby reached out and grabbed Sans’ arm, giving it a firm squeeze. He was shaking, _bad_. The skeleton was startled by his touch, jerking his head to stare at Grillby with wide, wet, _scared_ eyes. 

“Sans, it’s okay, you’re awake…”

After a pause, the fireman’s low and calm voice hit its mark. Narrowed pupils stirring, Sans’ face relaxed momentarily with realization and sheer relief— before he suddenly broke and collapsed into Grillby’s chest with a sob. Trying to keep his composure and suppress his worry, Grillby held the skeleton tight and ran a soothing hand down his shivering spine. “It’s alright,” he softly hummed as the skeleton just clutched against him and muffled his tears in his nightshirt. Grillby sighed gently with a grimace. It was a hell of a way to start the day. Just when they were thinking these damn episodes were over…

This one seemed particularly bad. It took a good ten minutes for Sans to calm down enough to speak. 

“I...I’m sorry… I-I had a really, _really_ bad nightmare, heh…”  
Ribcage still shuddering, Sans sounded exhausted. Grillby’s heart ached with concern as he hummed and tenderly kissed the top of the skeleton’s head. 

“It’s okay, Sweetheart,” he murmured. _It just scared the hell out of me…_ Sans pulled back, managing to smile a little, and worked his fingers as he focused his breathing. Sans looked… terrible, the most shaken Grillby had ever seen him. There… there was something in his eyes that was deeply unsettling, some dark hue of emotion that Grillby couldn’t put a name to. 

He let the skeleton gather himself for a moment before gently inquiring,  
“Do you want to talk about it?”

After a pause, Sans gave a deep exhale and shook his head.  
“Nah,” he muttered, grimacing as he smeared his tears away. “It’s… It’s gone now. Doesn’t matter… Besides,” Sans suddenly softened into a tender smile, glancing at Grillby’s middle, “You’ve got plenty to worry about for yourself.”

Well, Grillby could definitely agree to that, but…

“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah… I mean, I’ve got my little family right here, what else could I ask for?”

 

Grillby watched intently as Sans gently pulled back the covers, then lifted the fireman’s shirt to reveal the warm globe of magic that held their developing souling. 

“Hows our little spark today?” the skeleton hummed as he reverently trailed his fingers over the curve of Grillby’s belly. Heart melting, Grillby couldn’t help but smile as streaks of magic followed Sans’ touch and flutters emanated from his middle. Heh… It was amusing how small the skeleton’s hands looked against the exhausting work of eight months. 

“I think waking up like that gave them a bit of a scare… But they’re just happy you’re okay now.”  
_Happy_ was a bit of an understatement. Elated emotions were _pouring_ through the link as Sans’ magic wrapped protectively around their child. The kid sure knew who their father was…

“So sweet, before you’re even born…”  
Sans shifted to lay his head on Grillby’s stomach, and just layed there. Grillby found it a bit odd, but incredibly tranquil. Just the two of them, in the silence of the morning, their little one burning bright between them…

But… After a few minutes, Grillby frowned, grabbed his glasses off the nightstand and glanced at the clock. 

“Mm… We need to get up.”  
Sans’ caressing hands paused. Stiffened.  
“...Can’t we just stay in bed today? Just sit, talk, not do a damn thing?" 

Taken back a bit, Grillby grimaced. A dark cloud of worry was starting to build in the back of his mind. 

“That would be lovely, but…”  
Sans finally sat up, a distant, troubled look flashing across his skull before it dropped into his signature lazy grin. 

“Ah, you’re right. Responsibilities and all that. Maybe… later, right?”  
“Yeah…”

Sans suddenly pulled him into a kiss, cupping the fireman’s face, then gave him a long, deep look before abruptly climbing out of bed and stalking off to the bathroom. 

…  
Well… A bit dazed, Grillby stared after him. _Something_ was clearly bothering the skeleton. Heh, hell if he would tell Grillby exactly _what_. Mind churning, the fireman sighed and stretched with satisfying cracks, then started his morning routine. 

They’d been doing this for two years now… But christ, a lot had happened in that time. Well… Actually, thinking about it, _not really_. Everything was practically the same, except one little factor— that would be, the soul growing in his belly. And that, of course, changed everything. 

They never expected it, and honestly… Grillby still wasn’t sure what to think. He loved the tiny thing with every aching piece of his soul of course, and he was so happy and excited as the days counted down, but the idea that he was _having a kid_... Eight months in, and it still felt weird and misplaced in his mind. At this point, he might never get used to it.  
Funny how hard they tried to hide it at first. No one knew that the short, wisecracking skeleton was hooked up with the owner of Snowdin’s favorite diner; even Pap was unsuspicious of Sans’ numerous and frequent ‘sleepovers.’ They were going along fine, then Grillby started getting inexplicably tired and achy and sick, and his clothes started getting tight… They were barely into their relationship, very young, and totally unprepared. Grillby, scared out of his mind, didn’t think the town would take it too well… But Sans encouraged him, and when the truth slipped out, everyone was nothing but supportive. And thank god for that, because the fireman needed all the support he could get. He still felt unsure and intimidated at times… But with Sans’ unwavering support and everyone’s reassurance, he knew they would be fine.

 

He made a quick breakfast, they ate, Grillby cleaned up, got dressed, then waited by the door. Sans followed soon after, giving his fluffy jacket as much attention as Grillby did his work uniform. 

Grillby crossed his arms as he scrutinized Sans. It was still edging on him. The skeleton had been abnormally quiet and distant this morning. _Something_ was wrong. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?”  
Sans looked up and blinked in surprise.  
“Hm? Yeah. Just fine. Why?”

 _Yeah, sure…_ Grillby grimaced and stooped to Sans’ height.  
“You just seem… I don’t know, _off_.”

Sans gave him an odd look, then shrugged.  
“I don’t know. Probably jus’ pregnancy paranoia. Is that a thing? I think it’s a thing.”  
Sans came forward and delicately interlaced their fingers. 

“Like I said, don’t be worrying about me. You’ve got plenty to be worrying about for yourself. Just focus on that.”

Well… Maybe he was right. Grillby was getting more and more nervous as the days ticked away, and… okay, he might be a little paranoid.  
But still…

“You know that’s nearly impossible for me,” he sighed.

Sans gave a worried smile, then pulled Grillby into a warm hug.  
“Yeah, well… If not for yourself, don’t be giving our little one anxiety, alright Grillbz? I’ll… I’ll see you later. Love you.” 

“...Love you too,” Grillby hummed. Sans held on for a few more seconds before giving him a quick peck and heading out the door. 

Grillby lingered there for a minute, expression darkening as he mused.  
Sans could be right, or he could be making excuses. There was something, _something_ haunting the pits of his eyes that unsettled Grillby to the core. 

After a few minutes of running loops in his head, he decided to put it off till later. Making a quick adjustment to his uniform, he set to open the diner and start the day.


	2. Afternoon

“Hey bud, I’ve got it. Thanks.”

Grillby huffed to himself as Doggo took the tray back to his table. Blushing away from the warm looks of the counter-sitters, he focused his attention on cleaning a spotless glass for the fifth time. 

Tch… Even the hounds had picked up the habit, apparently. The bar patrons had been doing little things like that— taking their own food back, coming up to the counter to order, leaving the tables spotless… Then leaving bigger tips. Well, the heavily-pregnant fireman was sure as hell grateful for it, but it still felt odd, after watching the same people drunkenly trash the place for years… Mm, he kind of missed that, actually. There’d been a delicate apprehension in the air since the announcement of his pregnancy, and the atmosphere wasn’t quite the same. It wasn't _bad_ per se, but he didn’t like the change. He’d have to ruffle them back up when this was over. Having a kid didn’t mean he was suddenly fragile— anything but, actually…

“Hey Grillbz, how is it today?”  
Cardy came up to the counter, shaking the snow off her feathers before settling and grinning at him. Grillby grabbed a green bottle and held it up. The usual? She nodded.  
It’d been relatively quiet, just a peaceful day in Snowdin. Nothing special. Sans should’ve been coming around for lunch soon, as a certain souling kicking the hell out of his insides was sure to remind him. And Grillby was a bit anxious about that… There was still the dark cloud in his mind, left to boil into a storm through the day. Should he bring up his concern? Maybe it was best left brushed off; maybe it _was_ just the bad nightmare, nothing more. Still, if it shook the skeleton _that_ bad, he wanted to know what it was…

“Everything okay? Looks like you’re thinkin’ a lot.”  
He nodded.  
“The family doing well?”  
...Nod.  
“Well, good, I’d hope so. I know my aunt, last month of her pregnancy, her girlfriend got cold feet! My poor aunt had to go through all that alone. I’ve heard it’s ten times worse without a partner! Her girlfriend came back eventually, but she’s got someone else now… Oh,” Cardy continued, ignoring the furrowed glance Grillby threw her, “I’ve been meaning to ask you— you’ve got the nursery n’ everything sorted out, right?”

Grillby’s hands hitched for a moment. Well… things were still being figured out. It was difficult with Sans and Papyrus living in their own home– Grillby’s home wasn’t big enough for the three (soon to be four) of them, but he really didn’t want to leave it. And Sans didn’t want to leave Papyrus, so… ‘Eh, we’ll get to it later,’ Sans kept promising. Another thing being put off…

He nodded. 

 

“Yeah, my aunt wasn’t prepared _at all_ ; she was like, ‘oh, we’ll do it the last month, no need to rush!’ Then the thing with her girlfriend happened, and we had the whole family cracking down to get ready in time. It was kind of cute though, my little cousin—”

_Slam_

“Everyone out, _now!_ ”

…

The bar snapped into shocked silence. All eyes were wide at the heaving figure at the door. 

“Sans,” someone spoke after a moment, “what’s going on?”

“Everyone needs to get out. Grab your families, grab what you need, then either head to the tunnels, or go east. And _run_.”

“Woah, woah, Sans, what in the hell are you talking about?”

The skeleton was growing more exasperated by the rapidly ticking seconds, pupils sharply focused in deeply furrowed sockets. 

“Look… There’s a human out there, they’re killing everyone in their path, and they’re coming this way. Got it?”

The bar tensed back into a moment of silence as the patrons stared at Sans incredulously.  
Another spoke up, “A-are you serious, Sans?”

The skeleton bared his teeth in frustration. 

“Yes, I’m _serious_ , and you’ve got about a half an hour before they get here. _Go_.” 

They hesitated, but after a few seconds they began to shuffle towards the door, casting unsure and fearful glances to one another as realization still struggled to hit. Sans watched them sharply until all were out… Then, almost reluctantly, he turned his attention to the firman blankly staring at him from behind the counter. 

…  
“Grillbz,” Sans’ expression softened from desperation and frustration to a look of grief and apology as he slowly approached, and Grillby’s heart dropped. 

“S-sans?” 

…

Grillby stooped at Sans’ beckoning and the skeleton softly grabbed his hands. 

“You won’t make it far if you run… You have to hide in the back, okay? Hole up, and don’t come out for _anything_... a-alright?”  
“Sans… What’s happening?”

The question was sincere and calm enough, but it made Sans finally crack with a choked sob as his grip tightened.

“Th-there’s… a human, rampaging through the Underground, _destroying_ everyone they some across. There’s so much dust… They won’t be stopped, and they’re coming through town soon. S-so you have to hide Grillby, and stay hidden, _please_...”

It wasn’t quite registering in Grillby’s mind. It was too abrupt, too foreign, too many alarmed though and emotions crammed into one idea… B-but he got the message. Hide. 

…  
Then it hit him like a brick.  
“Sans… Where are you going?”

The distress in Sans’ face deepened.  
“I… I have to take care of this.”

Something in Grillby snapped as the weight of the situation suddenly crushed him.  
“T-take care of this? Sans… What does that mean? W-what the hell are you doing?! Y-you can’t… Don’t leave me!”

Grillby started breathing hard, panic flushing through him, the world going blurry— the squeeze of small hands brought him back into focus. 

“Grillby, th-that’s not… I… Look, I don’t expect you to understand, but I have to… I have to stop this.” 

…  
With the look on Sans’ face, Grillby felt like he couldn’t argue. 

He and Sans stared at each other for a long moment, hands gripping tighter as the seconds ticked in the silent bar, until Sans gently guided them away.

“O...Okay? I-I need to go now…”  
“...Okay.”  
“I, I love yo-”

Sans hitched as he was grabbed into Grillby’s arms. _Fuck_ … Grillby buried against his lover’s neck. No, he didn’t understand. No, it wasn’t okay. Sans shivered beneath him, and Grillby felt the sting of tears graze his cheek. 

“Grillby…”  
“Why are you doing this?”  
“...Because I have to.” 

That answer rang hollowly through Grillby’s head. It wasn’t enough, but it’d have to be. Giving a last shuddering sigh, he let the skeleton go and sat back defeated.  
“I love you,” he muttered. He could feel his heart pulling apart as reality only stabbed deeper and deeper. But Sans… needed to go…

Sans nodded, jaw trembling with the threat of falling apart, but he kept his composure as he trailed his hand from Grillby’s cheek down to his belly, where their little one was fluttering. He let it rest there for a second, before stepping back with finality. Softly, tiredly, he muttered,

“If I don’t come back—”  
“Sans....”  
“ _If I don’t come back_... It’s going to be okay. I promise. Everything will be okay.”

With one last look, he turned away and started walking out of the bar. The door closed with a soft creak. He was gone. Grillby stood unwavering for a minute… before collapsing over the bar with a sob.


	3. Evening

Grillby stood back and looked around, eyes flickering from each point of interest, his breath stuttering. Doors barred and locked. Windows locked. Curtains closed. What else…? He didn’t know. But time was ticking down. One last step. Satisfied with the main entrances, he gave a lasting exhale and headed to the study room. In the back with one window, it’d be safest, right? …

He strained against the end of the bookshelf, heaving it inch by inch. Hell… He’d really fallen out shape these past months, hm? Shoulder-height and half filled, he could barely get it in front of the door with his muscles screaming and chest heaving. Christ… but that should be good enough. 

Grillby leaned on the bookshelf, until his hearbeat stopped pounding through head. Then… He was met with a crushing quiet. Snowdin was silent. No merchants. No kids playing in the street. No warm chatter of old friends chasing out the cold. Nothing. 

Grillby’s soul pulled with the weight and threatened to break again, but he managed to keep together. He had to do something first. Now, finally, it was time to take care of the little being that was panicking inside him. 

Giving the shelf one-last shove, he stiffly stumbled to the couch and sat back with a huff. Thank god… He closed his eyes, raised his hands and gently splayed them over his belly.   
He was immediately met with a flurry of stressed magic that shot through his system and sent chills down his spine. For sanity’s sake, he’d blocked out their link for the last half hour as he rushed to lock up, which only distressed them more. _Waves_ of fear and confusion hit him as he let it flow back. 

‘ _Hey, hey…_ ’ he cooed, fighting through the flood of emotions to reach out to the souling and tenderly grasp them through the link. That jarred them a bit, and they went quiet for a second.   
Sighing softly, Grillby rubbed his thumbs along his stomach soothingly. 

_’It’s okay,’_ he lied.   
_’Mommy’s got you…’_

The souling could undoubtedly feel their mother’s panic and uncertainty, but they calmed down with his assurance. He almost felt guilty for it. 

And, now that his kid wasn’t screaming at him… Well… He wasn’t sure what to do. Wait? For how long? _For what?_ For… Sans to come back? I-if he was coming back? Oh god… _What did that mean?_ What was he taking care of? Why? Why in the hell was there a human rampaging through the Underground? 

Why was there a possibility that the father of his child might not be coming back?

He had no idea what Sans was doing. He had no goddamn context in this situation. So, then… He wasn’t sure that he could afford to be hopeful. God, he wanted to, he just wanted to think, _’It’s going to be fine, he’ll come back and it’ll be over, everything’s fine...’_ But he had a gut-wrenching feeling that everything wasn’t going to be so ‘fine.’ Not with the look that Sans gave him, the choke in his voice, that lasting touch… 

Snowdin’s stark silence gave him no answers. Hopefully everyone made it out safe. Hopefully someone could stop… Whatever the hell was going on. Hopefully Sans would come home. 

The souling sent another wave of apprehension, and he sent another of assurance. At least they were safe at the moment… All they could do was wait. 

 

\--Hours later--

It was a long, long wait. 

Hours stretched through hours. It didn’t help that he had no tell of time. Nothing but spanses of chilling silence were his clock. Grillby comforted his child until they fell asleep, then picked up a stray book to keep his mind off things. It wasn’t the most efficient, but Grillby finally fell to some semblance of ‘calm’ and ‘okay’ as he mindlessly scanned the pages. He’d take breaks to quietly walk around and settle his strained muscles, occasionally peeking from the curtains to watch snow solemnly drift onto the dead village.

There was one point where he thought he heard the bar door creak open, and his heart about stopped… But nothing more happened. Hell, it could’ve been the wind. 

The artificial dusk began to settle. Grillby smothered his body’s natural light, having to put the book aside. At that point his mind started getting worked up again, but then something else hit him harder– fuck, he was tired. Hours of waxing and waning anxiety, heart pounding, struggling to keep his calm, his pregnancy— he was physically _and_ mentally exhausted. 

He sat still, thinking, in the dark for a while, before decidedly giving in to the pull of sleep. Not much else that he could do. He saw Sans’ haunting smile behind heavy eyes, and prayed to the stars that he’d ever see it again.


	4. Midnight

“Grillby.”  
…  
“G-Grillby…”  
…

Grillby stirred a bit with a gently shove at his shoulder. 

“M...Mm?”

“H-hey…” 

After a moment, recognition of the hushed voice clicked, and everything came rushing in— Grillby’s eyes shot open and his light flared as he shot up. 

“Sans!”

Oh god, oh thank god… Grillby cried in relief as he reached to grab the skeleton, hold him tight and never let go– but he froze when it caught his eye. 

…

Wheezing, Sans smiled with devastated eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” 

…

The fireman reached out to shakily touch the gaping slash ripped through Sans’ chest. Wet. Trails of blue magic seeped through the wound and evaporated into the air. And he could _feel_ Sans’ soul shining with strain as magic rapidly poured through it. 

It was dying. 

Sans was dying. 

…

“I’m sorry,” quieter this time.

…  
Panic hit. What could he do, how could he stop it, how could he—  
His attention snapped back as Sans’ took his hands. He still held a crushing, despaired smile, but he had a startling calm, even as he struggled to breathe. It helped Grillby focus enough to look into his lover’s eyes for _what the fuck to do—_

Sans didn’t have an answer. 

“H-heh… I’m so sorry… It won’t be much longer…”

Grillby’s heart jarred. No, no, it would be okay, they could just, just–

“It’s okay…” Sans caught his jawline just as tears began to fall from Grillby’s wide eyes. He was shaking from strain. Every escaping wisp of magic cut through Grillby searingly.  
“We’ll be okay.”

Grillby bared his teeth and shook his head. Why did he keep insisting that It wasn’t okay! Nothing was fucking okay! It felt like his own soul was collapsing as he felt Sans’ growing weaker. 

“Please… don’t…”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“I… I can’t do this alone…” 

Sans’ calm demeanor faltered as Grillby’s hands clenched at his pregnant stomach. He faded out of a broken smile as the detached distance in his eyes was suddenly washed with emotion. Somehow, that gave Grillby some solace. 

But then Sans’ regained his blank calmness. 

“It’s going to be okay.”  
“N...No it’s not!”  
“I promise…” 

_Fuck..._ Grillby buried his head in his hands as his body shook. Sans was dying. And there was nothing he could do. 

Sans moved to sit beside him, then heavily leaned against as the Grillby sat back, ribcage heaving. 

“... I’m sorry, that we didn’t g-get our happy ending… Heh, m-maybe next time, hm?”  
…  
Sans’ laid a shaking hand on his stomach.  
“Sh...She’s beautiful, by the way, sm-smart as hell…”  
…  
“Sans…?”  
“Eh…Just t...talking to myself...”

Fading, quickly…  
A silence settled over the place again. Somehow, in this hell, it was tranquil. Sans began to close his eyes, soulbeat ever slowing. Grillby’s heart was in pieces, but… he didn’t know. He didn’t know to feel, think. All he could do was wait. 

“I love… you Grilb…”

“I love y… a...Ahh!”

Grillby was suddenly doubled-over, gasping in pain, muscles straining. Sans jolted. 

“W-what’s wrong?!”

Grillby gritted his teeth, panting with the needle-sharp, stabbing pain that ripped through his insides.

No, it couldn’t be…  
Fuck, _no_...

“I… I-I think it’s contractions!”

Sans’ eyes went wide, looking genuinely surprised, _scared_ for the first time that day.  
“Oh, oh god–”

_No, this couldn’t be happening, not this…_

“Sans… It’s, it’s too early! It’s… _Fuck!_ ” 

Grillby’s back arched under the pain. Small hands laid against his straining, burning muscles. It hurt, it hurt…

“G-Grillby, listen to me…”  
Grillby managed to relax as the pain leveled off, enough to look the skeleton in the eyes, tears pouring down his face.  
“They, they won’t make it, S-Sans…” 

Emotions were pouring through skeletons expression. Apology. A thousand ‘I’m sorry’s. Defeat. 

Suddenly, 

_Crack_

Sans gasped.  
Grillby knew the sound. 

“G-Grillby, please l-listen–” 

_Crack_

“It’s g-going to be okay–”

_Crack_

“Fuck… I promise…”

_Crack_

“Sans…”  
“I l-love you Grillby…”

_CRACK_

…  
….

“Sans?”  
…

“S-Sans?”

…  
Please

God, no

_Please_

…

Seconds later, Grillby was only staring at a dust-covered jacket. 

 

He couldn’t handle it. His soul was collapsing in on itself, screaming out with emotion. He buried into the jacket, painfully gripping it against his chest, dust sifting through his fingers. Then he cried out as another contraction mercilessly ripped through his body. Their child was desperate to escape the emotional havoc. Too soon. They didn’t know. It was too soon. He couldn’t do this. Sans was dead. Their child was going to die. Grillby’s soul was splitting at the seams. No… It was over. He couldn’t do this. There was no hope. No point. He stopped—

…………….

 

Grillby awoke with a jolt, abruptly pulled from the warm swath of sleep by sudden movement and noise beside him. Groggy and confused, he made an heaving effort to roll in the tangled bedsheets and squinted in the morning light. Sans…? The skeleton was sitting upright, clutching his chest and breathing hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's why you don't do no mercy route, you monsters.
> 
> The end.


End file.
